Hey friends,

Later this week I fky out to Canada and start a 2 week tour with band “Bluetree” and the campaign “Just Add Water” who are bringing clean water to the third world. If you live in or near Canada, come along!

And if you don’t know who Blutree are, check them out here…

You will probably know their great song “God Of This City”..I love that tune!

Hi guys!

Hope you’re having a great week. I spent a brilliant day today doing a photoshoot with Daley Hake. If you haven’t seen his pictures before, check out www.daleyhake.com.

Daley lives up near LA so he headed down to San Diego for the day, and we shot a bunch of photos down in super vibey area of SD called the “Gas Lamp District”. We shot in a parking lot, infront of a bunch of cool walls, in an elevator, overlooking the ocean… I’m amazed how Daley’s eyes can see exactly which light, background and camera lens is needed at which moment. I watched all day and learned a lot! I’m now watching him edit in Photoshop, and learning yet more!

Check out these shots…..

This was down by the San Diego harbor… it took a ton of tries to get one where my hair wasn’t crazy in the wind!

Me and Daley goofing around with our Zoolander ‘photoshoot faces’! I usually get nervous about pictures and feel really awkward..but he made me laugh and totally set me at ease!

So I’m feeling pretty inspired about photos and thinking of maybe getting a camera and learning a few things about taking shots of people… Any of you guys into cameras? Any advice on what I should get?

Vicky

Hey guys : )

I don’t often post a lot of photos from the road, and many of you have asked… So here are a bunch!

We played Thursday-Friday in Vacaville, then Sat-Sun in Foster City…both up in Northern Cali… I’m waiting on photos from Foster City…but here are a some from Vacaville!

This photo says so much to me.

It says that anything can happen… and that business leaders, world leaders and all the control we feel we have over our lives really are a bit of an illusion.I don’t mean to sound pessimistic or ‘domesday-ish’… It’s just got me thinking.

It seems like we are in very strange times. Nashville ran out of gas last week… it was bizarre to read “Twitters” where friends in TN were having to stay home because there was no gas…lining up for hours fighting over the remaining gallons of fuel.. Then to hear contant stories of earthquakes, fires, disasters, and then the news of the stock market. It is a reminder that serious things are taking place in the Earth at the moment, and whether I want to or not, I’m reminded of Jesus’ words that such things will happen as we begin to journey toward ‘the end’ of things… So it is jointly an exciting and very sobering time to be awake, aliving and breathing.

I’m bad at keeping up with news…local news or global news… I’m just bad at keeping up. I often exist in my own little bubble, typing away on my laptop, talking on my cell phone, ticking off my bible study plan… and often unaware of the issues and developments taking place in the globe.

God on the other hand, is anything BUT unaware. The more I hang out with Him, get to know Him, I realize that He is the most aware Being in existence. Some theologians say that attributing emotion to God is “anthropomorphic” (reducing God to a human level). I strongly disagree - God created emotions. We are a tiny reflection of His image. Therefore, He is far more emotive, more pained, more joyous, more senstive than any of us and all of us combined.

His awareness, His pain over the tragedies. His frustration over the injustices. These call me to HAVE to pay attention. He is my dearest Friend, my Husband, my Savior. I must know what is on His heart. I must share it and stand in it with Him.

So God, open my eyes and ears to see the world as you see. Wake me up from my comfortable sleep, my numerous conferences and meetings, my own dreams and agendas. Open my eyes to see as You see. Jump start my heart to feel what you feel.

Lead me out of my comfort zone… Outside the doors of comfortable church…and into the dangerous place where you stand…where there are question marks and heartaches, and the full punch of the weight of the pain of the world. I want to come out from behind my safe walls…..and share Your heart for this universe.

Jeremiah shared it. Hosea felt it. Ezekiel lived and breathed it. Amos carried it. Give me the gift of feeling your pain, your anger and your joy. I want it all - I want to know You and your heart. Ruin me for living a numb life in a comfortable bubble. Break my heart with the things that break yours. Open my blind eyes. Wake me up. Start today.

Amen

Hey friends,

I have a new author to tell you about….You know I love reading, so I thought I’d share a new discovery!

“Thomas Stearns Eliot” lived from 26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965. He was a poet, receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Eliot did the opposite of me - he was born in the United States, and moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 (at age 25). He said: “[My poetry] wouldn’t be what it is if I’d been born in England, and it wouldn’t be what it is if I’d stayed in America. It’s a combination of things. But in its sources, in its emotional springs, it comes from America.”

I like that he lived in both the countries that I’ve lived in, and that he found inspiration in both, as I have done. I think he and I would have had a lot to chat about over a cup of Earl Grey tea!

Anyways…  All credit for me discovering this new writer goes to Daley Hake, who shared some thoughts about Eliot’s poetry when he came to visit a few days ago. If you haven’t read Daley’s blog or seen his photography, click on his photo below and it will take you to his website…

Here are a few of the T.S.Eliot quotes I’ve found and am loving:

“All dash to and fro in motor cars,
Familiar with roads and settled nowhere” (Hmmm..I know that feeling!)

“O perpetual revolution of configured stars,
O perpetual recurrence of determined seasons,
O world of spring and autumn, birth and dying
The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word”

“Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

Pretty deep stuff!!

So I encourage you to check out his works… I’m just scraping the surface as I’ve only read a couple of quotes on Wikipedia! But I’m about to dive into one of his poems called “The Rock” and really think about how his writings apply to the church of today. Here’s my favorite Eliot quote so far:

“The Church must be forever building,
For it is forever decaying within and attacked from without”

When I hear him say that the church must “be forever building” I think he means that we can never sit down and get into a rut as the Body of Christ. We must keep asking “are we truly living out the Gospel? And do we as ‘the Church’ look anything like Jesus intended and dreamed we would?”

How can we as a generation impact and build the Church increasingly into something that reflects Jesus and His heart? What would that look like?

How do we keep the Gospel true and pure, and yet make our expression and presentation of ‘church’ accessible and relevant to the culture of today?

Is our expression of church today something that pleases God’s heart, and something that embodies the Gospel? Or have we missed the boat?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Love,

Vicky

Hi friends!

Hows your week been? Hope you have a fun, restful and refreshing weekend ahead!

I was just reading one of my favorite Blogs - “ragamuffin soul” written by my good friend Carlos Whittaker. He had a very interesting post today, so I thought I’d share it with you. I love a good debate, and love discussing theological questions, as my heart is to search God’s word and find out truth. And I always love hearing what others see and think about the different elements in our theology.

Carlos’ post said that today the Lifeway chain of stores pulled Gospel Today magazine because it featured women pastors on the front cover. Lifeway don’t agree with female pastors, so the magazine is only available under the counter and won’t be displayed…

Click here to read the full story…

Also, jump over to Carlos’s page and see the interesting diversity of comments… then share your thoughts below. All perspectives and convictions are equally welcome here for discussion… I hope this is a safe enough community that you feel you can truly share. I know we have chatted about women in ministry before, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the specific issue of whether you think women can be senior pastors, or pastors on staff, or whether they can teach from the pulpit to a room of men and women….

Looking forward to hearing from you!

I’m getting ready here to lead at church this weekend. Would love your prayers for God to really show up and pour out His presence and power. Next week I lead worship and speak in Northern CA. If you live near Sacramento check out my two events (next Thurs night and Fri morning in Vacaville, then Sat and Sun in Foster City).

Love,

Vicky

Hi friends!

I had a wonderful day today with my dear friend Melody Green.

She was visiting California, so she came down to San Diego and we went out for lunch overlooking the ocean. She loves British tea, so after lunch we went out for some of our favorite tea - Earl Grey!

Tonight we are sitting on our Mac laptops working on our Blogs - she and I are both big fans of laptops and getting online, so we are having a great evening here downloading photos, surfing the net and chatting about what God is doing in our lives!

Melody is working on a new version of her website dedicated to the music and legacy of her late husband Keith Green. I’ll let you know when that’s up and running. She’s going to have Question and Answer blogs where you can write in with questions and she’ll answer them personally. Cool hey?!

Have you guys been inspired or influenced by Keith’s musical legacy? If so it would be cool to hear your stories….

Love,

Vicky

Hi gang!

Here’s a recent podcast I did with  “www.AllAboutWorship.info”. Hope you enjoy listening!

Click here to hear it…

It’s been a great weekend here in San Diego. I led worship for the four services at my local church and had a blast hanging out with the church musicians there all weekend. I went out to “Wahoo’s” with them for lunch today - an awesome taco restaurant here on the West coast.The best fish tacos Ive had in SoCal yet!

I bought a new guitar too - well, I traded two old guitars to get one new one….Trading is the best way to get new gear without shelling out loads of cash! I love the new guitar  - photos and details to follow for you gear appreciators out there!

Ok, a question for you folks….“Do you guys subscribe to podcasts? Which would you recommend to our community?” I have tried a few that I’ve loved - Erwin McManus’s “Mosaic” podcast from his church in LA… ChinesePod.com which is a podcast on learning mandarin…. The “Onething” podcast from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City… the BBC news… Rob Bell from Mars Hill…. Joyce Meyer….. But I want to find others… and on all kinds of subjects too. So please recommend some!

Love,

Vicky : )

Biscuet.com Video Podcast. June 18, 2008 from Jonathan Smyth on Vimeo.

Hi there!

Sometimes people say to me “why do you spend so much time on your laptop? It’s antisocial!!”. My belief is that my online community is just as real and important to me as my face to face community. Online I am linked in with friends across the globe - England, all over the USA, Denmark, South Africa…and even China!  The great part is that from time to time, you cross paths with people from the online community and get to hang out face to face.

My friend Biscuet (that’s a nickname he got given in elementary school as he mispelled the word ‘biscuit’ in a spelling bee!) built my www.vickybeeching.com Blogsite from Beijing China, where he lives and teaches English as a foreign language.

The time difference from the USA to China is 13 hours so we would discuss Blog ideas on iChat, then I’d go to sleep in Nashville and meanwhile he’d be working on the Blog throughout his day/my night, over in Beijing. Then when I woke up in Nashville, he’d be finished with his work day in China and have a ton of cool stuff done for me to look at. It was hilarious to think we were working together on creating a website, but doing it SO many miles apart! Teachnology is amazing!

He’s originally from Alabama, and is spending his summer back in the States. His travels took him to Southen California, so we hung out today and I asked him a few questions on video. I couldn’t get my iMovie software to work tonight, so this video isn’t edited…so forgive its messiness and the fact that some of it is upside down! I also included a video below that one of him at a Chinese banquet - eating TURTLE! So these are the things you get to see on his blog!..

Check out his Blog www.biscuet.com especially in a few weeks time when he heads back to China and starts posting videos and photos of Chinese life and culture… I point you to his blog because I have a huge heart for China, and through his posts you can see what life there is like. One of my dreams has always been to visit China, so perhaps in 2009 I will!

We’ve all had our eyes on China for the Olympics, but I’m deeply hoping that we won’t forget about that amazing nation just because the Olympics are over… so I am wanting to keep China on our radar!

If you are one of my blog readers, why don’t you jump over to his page and just leave him a comment that says hello?

www.biscuet.com

Cheers!

Vicky

Hi friends,

Hope you had a great weekend! I led worship at Cottonwood Church, Los Alamitos, just outside of LA. It was a really special time - I made some great new friends and came home feeling really encouraged! Brandon and Matt, my drummer and bass player, loved it too. Matt even got his long curly hair cut short on the Saturday night - video clip to follow! So it was quite an eventful weekend!

I was chatting with my friend Wendy on the phone today (you can follow her on Twitter…. she’s “wendybeechward”). (She is also a friend of another of my Twitter/Blog buddies “AussieJoy”)

We were discussing how you strike the balance in life between living as a person “crucified with Christ” and therefore dead to your own will, choices and desires, and yet living a “purpose driven life” and “your best life now”… all of which are really good things to aim for - to find your place in God’s plan and to be fulfilled, joyful and energized.

Bonhoeffer is a favorite author of mine. One of his greatest works is “The cost of discipleship”. In it he writes “when Christ calls a man, he bids him ‘come and die’”. It’s so true. The Apostle Paul said “it’s no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me… for I have been crucified with Christ…I am dead to the world…”

Joel Osteen writes: “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us” .Rick Warren writes that God has a definite plan and purpose for each of our lives, where we will be energized as we find our eternal purpose. I love Bonhoeffer, Joel Osteen and RIck Warren…they are all awesome, but how does all this fit together?

How do we know if we are walking on the right path or in the right place? If life is tough, does that mean that we are outside of God’s will, or inside of it? When is a tough situation something that you stick out because we are called to ‘die’ and when do you step out of it because you don’t feel like you are joyful or prospering? How do we know when a situation is like ‘refining fire’ for the growth of our character, and when it is something we need to move away from for the good and health of our hearts?

How do you personally see the balance between living the “crucified life” where we have given up our rights and our desires… yet living the “abundant life, life in all it’s fullness” that Jesus promises us?

Thoughts..?

Love,

Vicky